Electrical connector



Jan. 22, Q sTlLL ET L ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 22, 1945 filoMAs .C SrrLL ABRm-n C- STILL ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 22, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,393,485 nnncrnroAL CONNECTOR Thomas Cieril Still, Glendale, and Abram Cragg Still, La Crescenta, Calif.

Application January 22, 1943, Serial No. 473,206

11 Claims. (Cl. 173361) This invention relates to electrical connectors and deals particularly with an improvement in the contacts and insulators of such connectors.

The electrical connector to be hereinafter described has been designed to meet the need for a device of this character having contacts that may be removed independently without aflecting any of the other contacts or the insulator. The present electrical connector, or electrical plug as it is sometimes called in the art, carries two types of contacts, one of the pin or male form and the other of the socket or female form. In using the word contact herein, it shall be taken to mean either of these forms. Also, the words connector and "plug may be used interchangeably.

As stated, the primary purpose of this invention is to provide a plug having independently removable contacts. Other objects of the invention are: to increase the surface distance on the insulator between contacts so that an electrical barrier may be set up without the use of special walls, grooves,

manently fastened to their'respective conductors by soldering or by any one of the present crimp methods; to permit the repeated insertion and removal of individual contacts without the necessity of disconnecting it from its conductor; to a low the contact body to float freely in the insula tor so that it may rotate in response to any twisting force carried by the conductor or by its mating contact; to provide a. contact having a lock collar thereon which will securely hold the contact in position and is of such form that it will not materially reduce the barrier distance for the passage of electricity; to provide a slide lock for locking the'contact in the insulator body so that the contact may be securely mounted in said insulator with a definite amount of play to permit the aligning of the contact with its mating contact and will at the same time allow free rotation of the contact in its position; to provide a slide lock of the character above which is securely locked in position and serves as a key to hold the lock collar in a locking position; to provide a slide lock which not only serves as a means of holding the collarin a locked position but also exerts a constant spring tension between the contact and the insulator, thus eliminating a certain amount of bib breakage resulting from fatigue in the metal; to provide a slide lock which may be grasped externally for unlocking the contact and removing the same from its insulation body.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in conjunction with the drawing in which:

Figure l is an enlarged perspective view ofa pin, or male contact, having our lock collar and slide lock incorporated thereon;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the contact per se;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the lock collar; 1

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the slide lock;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section showing a pin contact mounted in our insulator body and held therein by our invention;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure-5 with our insulator body rotated Figure 7 is a cross section taken on line i--l of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a cross section taken on line t-8 of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a cross section taken on line t--t of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a socket, or female contact;

Figure 11 is an end elevation of our one-piece insulation-body showing the internal wall having plurality of contacts; and

Figure 14 is a side view of the same.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figures 1 and 11 for a more detailed description of our invention, it will be seen that our invention comprises four novel parts; namely, the pin contact generally designated A, the lock collar generally designated B, the slide lock generally designated C, and the insulator generally designated D. These parts are seen separately in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 11 respectively. A more detailed description of each of these parts will now be given.

As shown in Figure 2, the contact pin A consists of the pin portion H, which in this instance is of the male type. It isto be understood, however, that in place of the male type pin a female socket may be used for this portion of the pin, while all the other parts and dimensions of the contact remain materially the same. .The shape of the female portion of the pin is fragmentarily shown vibration therein and reducing the danger of u in Figure 10. A small collar I: may be formed 'at the base of the pin II and the body of the contact may be slightly reduced to form a shank l3 which extends to a shoulder II. From the shoulder H to the other end of the contact, the body of the contact is shown as being formed into a conventional solder connection IE, or it may be shaped to provide a crimp connection of any of the various types now approved. This part of the contact and the pin part of the contact designated H are substantially the same forms now used. Between the collar l2 and the shoulder N, we mount the lock collar B on the contact by snapping the collar B over the shank l3. For this purpose the collar B may be made of metal or, if desirable, a suitable plastic material may be used. As shown it is provided with a slot l6, slightlynarrower than the diameter of the shank, which opens into a longitudinal bore II extending the full length of the collar, and since the bore H is slightly larger than the shank I 3, the collar is left free to rotate on the shank but is held against end play by the collar i2 and the shoulder M. In Figure 3 it will be seen that the collar is provided with a flange l8 and a T-head forming arms 89. Also, it will be noted that the slot it extends through the flange I8 and that the arms I9 are substantially at right angles to the plane in which the flange I8 is slotted. The reason for this will become obvious later.

The slide lock 0 is shown in Figure 4. This may be made of any suitable material having definite resilient characteristics. As illustrated, it comprises a ring portion 20 having a tongue extending therefrom generally designated 2!. 0n the outer end of the tongue there is a return member 22 slightly spaced from the tongue itself to provide resilient spring pressure when the end of the tongue is forced into the locking position to be later described. Also, the tongue has a depressed portion 23 which forms a shoulder 24 adjacent the ring 20, which is used for locking the slide lock in position and preventingcontact of the slide lock with the walls of the insulator in such a way as to decrease electrical creepage. All the foregoing described features except the insulator can be found in assembled position in Figure 1.

In Figures 5 and 6 we have shown the complete pin assembly, as described and shown in Figure I, inserted in an insulation body as it would be used in actual practice. It is to be understood, however, that while we have shown but one contact in an insulation body, there are one or more contacts ordinarily in such bodies, and plugs may be manufactured and used having any number of contacts in one body. The body we show, therefore, having but one contact is illustrative only of the way in which we employ our invention and i not to be construed as limiting the invention in any way to the type of plug used or the size or shape of the insulation body. In these views it wfll be seen that parts A, B, and C are mounted in our insulation body generally designated D,

these four parts comprising the complete assembly to which our invention relates. Before explaining in detail the manner in which our contact is mounted in the insulation body, reference will first be had to Figures 11 and.12, showing the construction of this body. Here it can be seen the allel recesses 25 and 26 on opposite ends thereof.

These recesses leave a wall 21 substantially in the middle of the member D. The wall 2i is then formed with a round hole 26, and slots 29 extend diametrically opposite each other from the hole 28 through the barrier 21. In mounting the pin contact in the body D, the assembly as shown in Figure l is first made up, and the pin it is inserted through the hole 28, and the arms I9 are so positioned that they will pass through the slotted openings 29. During the insertion of the contact into the insulator body, the slide lock C which is frictionally held is pulled back on the soldering portion I5 of the pin so that the raised portion 2! is withdrawn behind the flange It, thus allowing the pin to be inserted through the insulation member D until the flange 18 comes to rest upon the bottom of the recess 26. In this position the members B and C are free to rotate on the contact A, and to lock the pin in position, the collar 20 of the member B is rotated whereupon the tongue Zi on the collar aligns with one of the slots 29 and the slide lock is then pushed forward which forces the tongue 2| through the groove E6 of the collar B and into the slot 29, thus 7 locking the collar B against further rotation and exerting a spring pressure between the shank i3 and the insulation D by means of the return bend 22 on the end of the tongue. The slide lock C is releasably held against withdrawal by means of the shoulder 24 which snaps over the shoulder H on the contact body A. When in this position the collar B and the slide lock C are held against further rotation, and the arms it are turned substantially at right angles to the slot 29, thus securely locking the collar B against withdrawal from the insulation member ID. The contact body A is free to rotate in the collar B and the collar 20 of the slide fastener C, since the frictional resistance of the collar 20 on the soldering portion 55 of the contact body has been released by dropping the shoulder 2 over the shoulder i l, but the contact body is securely held against withdrawal in the insulation member and is likewise held against vibration by the member 22. To withdraw the entire contact assembly, the collar 20 of the member C is grasped by any suitable instrument, such as a long nosed pair of pliers, and is pulled backwards along the pin until the end 30 of the member 22 engages the shoulder i l, thus forming a definite stop for the movement of this member. In this position the collar B may be turned in the insulation member D until the arms 59 align with the slots 29, whereupon the collar B is free to be withdrawn from the insulation member and the pin is likewise withdrawn without disturbing any of the other parts of the plug.

In Figures 13 and 14, we have shown a plurality of our improved contacts mounted in a single plug. It is to be understood that the construction of each individual contact remains the same as described in the foregoing and that as many contacts as may be needed may be mounted in one plug-without interfering with each other. In

these views D represents the plug and II shows the same contact points, while on the opposite side of the plug the sleeves 20 for releasing the plug are shown mounted on the end of the contact member l5 adapted to be connected to a conductor. The arrangement and location of the contact members in the plug is immaterial in so far as the contact members are concemed.

The foregoing description deals with a preferred form of our invention. However, we are aware that certain modifications and refinements may be made in the structural part without departing from the premise of the invention. For this reason the invention is to be limited only by the scope'of the claims appended hereto.

We claim: I

1. In an electrical connector having a plurality of contact members supported in an insulation body, a lock collar rotatably mounted on each of said contact members, said lock adapted to pass said arms and lock said collar in said body against said flange when said collar is slightly rotated in said body, and means for locking said collar in a fixed position of rotation in said insulation body.

3. In an electrical connector having a plurality of contact members supported in an insulation body, a'lock collar rotatably mounted on each of said. contact members and held against longitudinal movement thereon, said lock collars having arms on one end thereof and a flange on the opposite end, said insulation body having a wall with a slotted opening therethrough adapted to pass saidarms, a sleeve rotatably mounted on each of said contact members externally of said insulation body, a resilient tongue oneach of said sleeves slidably engaging a slot in each of said lock collars for rotating said collars in said insulation body to bring said arms out of line with said slots, and means for locking said collars against rotation in said last I of said contact members and held against longitudinal movement thereon, said lock collars having arms on one end thereof and a flange on the opposite end, said insulation body having a wall with a slotted opening therethrough adapted to pass said arms, a sleeve rotatably mounted on each of said contact'members externally of said insulation body, a resilient tongue on each of said sleeves slidably engaging a slot in each of said lock collars for rotating said collars in said insulation body to bring said arms out of line with said slots and align said tongues with said slots whereby said tongues may he slid on said contact members to enter said slots and lock said collars against rotation in said insulation body, said tongues normally exerting a pressure between said insulation body and said contact members.

6. For use in an electrical connector embodying an insulation body having a wall with a slotted opening therethrough, a contact member having a contact element on one end thereof and means on the opposite end for connecting to a conductor, a lock collar rotatably mounted on said contact member intermediate the ends and held against longitudinal movement thereon, arms on one end of said collar adapted to pass through said slotted wall and a flange on the opposite end thereof adopted to bear against said wall, and means on the connecting end of said contact member for rotating said collar on said contact member to lock said member in said insulation body.

7. For use in an electrical connector embodying an insulation body having a wall with a slotted opening therethrough, a contact member having a contact element on one end thereof and means on the opposite end for connecting to a conductor, a lock collar rotatably mounted on said contact member intermediate the end and held against longitudinal movement. thereon, said collar having a longitudinal bore adapted to rotatably receive the intermediate portion of said contact member, and a slot extending full length of said bore for detachably mounting said collar on said contact member. v

8. For use in an electrical connector embodying an insulation body having a wall with a wall with a slotted openingftherethrough adapted body to bring said arms out of line with said slots and align said tongue with said slots whereby said tongues may be slid on said contact members to enter said slots and lock said collars against rotation in said insulation body.

5. In an electrical connector having a plurality,

of contact members supported in an insulation body, a lock collar rotatably mounted on each slotted opening therethrough, a contact member having a contact element on one end thereof and means on the opposite end for connecting to a conductor, a lock collar mounted on said contact member intermediate the ends and held against longitudinal movement thereon, said collar having a longitudinal bore adapted to receive the intermediate portion of said contact member, and a slot extending full length of said bore for mounting said collar on said contact member, said slot being slightly narrower than the intermediate portion of said contact member so that said collar may be snapped into position on said member.

9. For use in an electrical connector embodying an insulation body having a wall with a slotted" opening therethrough, a contact member having a contact element on one end thereof and means on the opposite end for connecting to a conductor, a shank portion on said pin having shoulders at each end thereof intermediate said ends, a lock collar mounted on said shank portion adapted to fit between said shoulders, said collar having alongitudinal slot adapted to yieldingly snap over said shank for mounting saidcollar on said contact member, 'a detent member movably mounted on said contact "arms member, said detent member having a finger arranged to slide in said slot and hold said collar against rotation on said contact member.

10 For. use in an electrical connector embodying an insulation body having a wall with a slotted opening therethrough, a contact member having a contact element on one end thereof and means on the opposite end for connecting to a conductor, a shank portion on said contact ing an insulation body having a wall with a slotted opening therethrough, a contact member having a contact element on one end thereof and means on the opposite end for connecting to a conductor, a shank portion on said contact member having shoulders at each end thereof intermediate said ends,-a loci: collar rotatably mounted on said shank portion adapted to fit between said shoulders, said collar having a longitudinal slot adapted to yieldingly snap over said shanl: for mounting said collar on said contact member, a sleeve frictionally mounted on said contact member arranged to be externally accessible when said contact member is mounted in an electrical connector, a finger extending from said sleeve into said slot whereby said collar. may be rotated on said contact member and means for releasably holding said finger in a predetermined fixed position in said insulation body.

THOMAS CLERIL STILL. ABRAM CRAGG- STILL. 

